Mounting device for instruments



-NOV- 14, 1933. w CAMERON 1,934,698

MOUNTING DEVICE FOR INSTRUMENTS Filed June 1, 1931 Patented Nov. I4,1933 rssr FEE 3 Claims.

ried by a handle.

In the treatment and inspection of cavities of the human body such asthe nose, the ears, and the like, it is the practice to employ tubularor conical instruments known as specula, proctoscopes and the like.

These structures are usually hollow so that, after they are insertedinto the cavity, the physician or surgeon may examine the internaltissue at the end of the structure and treat said tissue by'diversmeans.

The

speculae or proctoscopes and the like are, of course, of a variety ofshapes and lengths, and for convenience in handling them are sometimesmounted upon a convenient handle or similar structure.

In the improvement which I have devised I employ a handle in which anilluminating bulb may be moved out of and retracted therein and upon theilluminatedend of the handle there is a head to carry the speculum orother instrument. In the present structure the head is provided withnovel means whereby'the speculum or other instruments may be readilyattached to and detached from the head, and the head and attaching meansare constructed so that the instrument is securely anchored on the headwhile the instrument is'in use. On account of the particularly novelconstruction of the attaching means vit is possible to employ speculumsand proctoscopes of different shapes and sizes so that it is necessaryto provide only one head for use with a variety'of instruments.

The present invention has numerous objectsin view, among which may bementioned the provisionoi a deviceof the character described that iseasy to manipulate, is. dependablein operation, is novel in constructionand is simple in the arrangement of its parts.

These and other objects I prefer to accomplish by means of the structureherein disclosed and which is more particularly pointed out in theappended claims. Reference is madeto the accompanying drawing that formsa part of this specification.

In the drawing:-

.12. larger scale.

ation, and drawn to Figure .3 is a front elevation of rny'invention,detached from the handle, and looking towards the apex of the speculum.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view partly in section showing the partsreleased to remove the speculum.

The drawing will be understood as more 01' less schematicior the purposeof illustrating a typical or preferred embodiment of my invention, andin said drawing the same reference charactershave been employedtodesignate similar parts wherever they appear throughout the diiierentviews. i

Referring more particularly to Figure 1; the handle 5 is of cylindricalshape in cross section and of the length sufficient to provide a readygrasp when taken in the hand, and at its upper end there is a socket toreceive an L-shaped bulb Gthat may be retracted into and out of thehandle by moving theslide '7 in the proper direction by the thumb of theoperator. The means for mounting the head upon the handle consists of ashort. tube 8 that is removably mounted on the upper end of the handleby means of a pin and bayonet slot construction, and, at one side of itsaxis, said tube is provided with a split band or ring 9 in which thebody of the head is mounted. The ends of the band or ring terminate inradially disposed ears 1% that are moved towards and from each other bymeans of a cam structure 11 that is actuated by a lateral lever 12.

The head comprises a tubular body 13 which has an annular flange 14 uponits exterior surface that provides a stop or shoulder to engage with"the adjacent edge of the split band 9 and, after said parts have beenassembled the cam is operated to constrict said band firmly around theadjacent portion around the body.

The instrument shown in the drawing is an ear or nose speculum which hasa tapered or conical portion 15, and at the base of the cone there is anannular flange or rib 16 and beyond this rib there is a cylindricalportion 17 or" less width than rib 16 for insertion into the head. Asseen in the drawing there is a slight shoulder made at the base of thecone which is indicated by the nu meral 18.

Other instruments, such as car or nose speculum having operatingportions of different shapes and sizes, as well as proctoscopes andsimilar instruments may be employed in connection with the head. In eachinstance, however, the base portion of the instrument should comprisethe flange or rib l6 and the cylinder portion 17, or the equivalent,thus permitting interchangeability of the instruments and their readyinsertion in or removability from the head. The bore of the head at itsend opposite the clamping band 9 is preferably increased in diameter asat 19 and the cylindrical portion 17 of the instrument is adapted to beinserted in this increased bore until the adjacent end edge of thetubular body abuts the flange or rib 16 after which the attachingmechanism is operated to lock the instrument in position.

The means employed to secure the instrument upon the head consists of aplurality of eccentrically operating elements such as pivoted latches orpawl devices that are simultaneously manipulated by rotating a camslotted wheel. The eccentric elements or pawls 20 are preferably threein number and they are each mounted upon a pivot pin 21 extendingbetween spaced ears 22 that project radially from an annulus 23surrounding and secured to the exterior of the head by sweating (orotherwise) when the parts arebeing assembled. The pawls are of eccentricor irregular shape as shown in the drawing and each has an outer portionor finger 24-that is adapted to press upon the flange or rib 16 or" theinstrument, adjacent the shoulder 18, when said pawl is operated toclamp the instrument on the head. The pressure of the fingers 24 ofthese pawls is in a direction to urge the flanges or ribs 16 against theend of the head and thereby maintain the instrument against rotative andlongitudinal or axial movement.

The latches or pawls are actuated by means of a wheel or washer-likeplate 25, the central opening of whi h is sufiicient to allow it torotate upon the portion of the head next to the annulus 23 and it ismounted between the inner edge of this annulus and a rib 26 formed onthe head. The pawls. are provided with studs 27 that projects from thesame in a direction opposite to the finers 24 and they enter eccentricor cam slots 28 made in the wheel 25 so that when the wheel is rotatedin one direction or the other the studs 27 will be moved in and outtowards or away from the head, while the fingers will be correspondinglymoved away from or towards the flange or rib 16 on the instrument.

In other words, the rotative movement of the wheel 25 causes a rockingor see-sawing action of the pawls 20 which causes the fingers on saidpawls to engage or disengage the instrument. On account of the elongatedform of the cam slots 28 a very definite and dependable grip is had uponthe instrument base by the fingers 24, and

" in order to conveniently operate the wheel I provide the latter withfinger-grips 29 that project radially from its edge.

In connection with the head I have shown means whereby the operator maytreat the cavity under inspection with air, gas, or other fluid. To thisend I mount a doubleconvex lens 36 in the main bore of the tubular head13 and I prefor to position this lens obliquely instead of at a trueright-angle to the axis of the head in or- .der that light rays from thebulb 6 will not be reflected back into the eyes of the operator. Aconvenient manner of mounting the lens consists of, two counterpartbushings 31 and 32 that are preferably formed by cutting a metalcylinder obliquely at the angle desired for the lens 30 and insertingthese bushings into the head with the lens between them. The jointbetween the bushings and the lens are made air-tight, by cement or othermaterial, and a hose-receiving stub 33 is inserted into a hole thatextends through the wall of the head 13 and the bushing 32, as shown inFigure 2 of the drawing. The lens forms a wall of light transmittingmaterial which prevents the gas, air, or vapor from escaping out of thestructure so that it must pass into the instrument 15 and be directedthereby into contact with the tissue under treatment.

From the foregoing it will be seen that a variety of instruments, suchas a nasal speculum, an ear speculum, a proctoscope, or the like, may beprovided with end or basal portions similar to that shown, and thatthese portions may be readily clamped to the head by operating the wheelwhich will force the pawls into locking engagement with the instrumentbase. It will be understood, however, that the structure shown may bemodified without altering the principles I have evolved. Therefore, thedrawing and the within description are given for the purpose ofclearness and understanding only and no unnecessary limitations are tobe understood therefrom but the appended claims are to be construed asbroadly as permissible in view of the prior art.

What I claim is:-

l. A device of the kind described comprising a handle, a tubular headthereon, a surgical instrument having a cylindrical base inserted insaid head, an annular abutment on said base adapted to engage the endedge of said head, a plurality of pawls fulcrumed intermediate theirends on the end portion of said head, the outer portions of said pawlsbeing engaged with said abutment, and an annular member surrounding androtatably mounted on said head and having eccentrically disposed slotsto operatively receive the ends of said pawls opposite the abutment.

2. A device of the kind described comprising a handle, a tubular headthereon, a plurality of pawls fulcrumed intermediate their ends on saidhead adjacent an end edge thereof, an annular member rotatablysurrounding said head and provided with oblique slots to receive andoperate adjacent inner ends of said pawls, a surgical instrument havinga base inserted in said head, and an annular rib on base that is engagedby the outer ends of said pawls whereby said in strument and said headare maintained, against relative longitudinal movement with respect toeach other.

3. A device of the kind described comprising a handle, a tubular headthereon, an annular member rotatably surrounding said head and providedwith obliquely disposed slots, a plurality of pawls f ulcrumed on saidhead and having their inner ends engaged in said slots, a surgicalinstrument having a base inserted in said head, and an annular rib onsaid base engaged by the outer ends of said pawls, the work edges ofsaid pawls being disposed in a manner to urge the base of the instrumentinto said head when the annular member is rotated to rock said pawls.

WILLIAM J. CAMERON.

